Last week, we looked at the causes of electric power failures and surges, and how bad these events can be for our sensitive electronic devices like computers, TVs, etc. Contrary to popular thinking, power outages caused by direct lightning strikes are rare, accounting...

Electronic devices like computers, TVs and smart phones are very picky about the kind of electricity used to make them run and/or charge their batteries. Use the wrong kind of electrical power and, poof, your fancy new laptop is now a fancy, new doorstop. As described...

Electronic devices like computers, TVs and smart phones are very picky about the kind of electricity used to make them run and/or charge their batteries. Use the wrong kind of electrical power and, poof, your fancy new laptop is now a fancy, new doorstop. This is...

Every year about this time I have to reassess the Internet Christmas shopping situation. Billions of dollars in electronic form are flying down wires, bouncing to and from orbiting satellites, through the air and across the Internet, more this time of year than any...

If your computer uses Microsoft’s Windows Vista operating system, and you are not prepared, you may be in for a shock, come next spring. Next spring, on April 11, 2017, Microsoft will end all support for its still widely-used Windows Vista operating system. That...